RVT Month CE Quiz: Small Mammal Venipuncture Tips & Tricks — Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians

Continuing to learn after achieving RVT status is essential for the individual and the advancement of the profession. Ontario RVTs can earn one (1) Continuing Education (CE) credit by reading the CE articles in the RVT Journal, or watching recorded sessions of OAVT presentations, and submitting the successfully completed corresponding quizzes.

If you obtain a score of 8 out of 10 (80%) or higher, you will receive a confirmation email which OAVT members can use as acceptable proof for their online CE record.

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1. Which of these variables is NOT recommended to help provide a successful and safe blood draw experience for a small exotic mammal patient?

a. Appropriate use of sedative drugs.

b. Ensuring a busy and loud hospital environment to raise patient heart rate and blood pressure.

c. Preparing all necessary equipment in advance.

d. Ensuring that the patient is normothermic.

2. How does 'masking phenomenon' make patient assessment and treatment more difficult in exotic mammals?

a. These animals fake illness in order to evade predators, which wastes valuable resources during patient assessment.

b. Masking phenomenon refers to death feigning, where the team may attempt resuscitation efforts when it is not necessary.

c. Diagnostics are not useful in these species as their bodies “mask” physiological changes associated with illness.

d. Patients that are presenting for wellness exams may actually be quite sick, as these species will hide signs of illness to avoid predation.

3. A stable patient makes for a better blood draw experience. Which of these statements regarding patient stabilization is TRUE?

a. Small animals cool quickly, due to their increased ratio of body surface area to body mass.

b. Patients with a diminished body condition and muscle condition warm quickly, as their metabolism overcompensates.

c. Cooling patients for 5-10 minutes helps peripheral vasodilation, as the body tries to retrieve warmth from the extremities.

d. Preoxygenation is not helpful, as animals with a small body size use little oxygen.

4. Which of these statements regarding isoflurane use is FALSE?

a. Isoflurane induction with inadequate sedation results in a prolonged excitement phase of anesthesia.

b. In domestic ferrets (Mustela putorious furo), isoflurane anesthesia is associated with significant hematological changes such as a severe increase in hematocrit value.

c. According to Brodbelt (2009), inducing and maintaining patients on isoflurane alone is associated with an increased risk of morbidity.

d. Use of a high concentration of isoflurane causes respiratory depression, hypotension, and poor tissue perfusion.

5. You are attempting a blood draw on a 28-month-old intact male Fancy mouse (Mus musculus domestica) for a blood film evaluation and PCV/TS. Because this animal’s organ function is unknown and he is geriatric, your veterinarian opts for a light, reversible sedation with midazolam and butorphanol, and you would like to complement this with a topical anesthetic. The product concentration of lidocaine is 2.5% (w/w), and the maximum dose for mice over a 24-hour period is 7 mg/kg. Your patient weighs 16 grams. What is the maximum dose of topical lidocaine that you can safely use on this patient?

a. 4 g of lidocaine 2.5% (w/w)

b. 0.4 g of lidocaine 2.5% (w/w)

c. 0.04 g of lidocaine 2.5% (w/w)

d. 0.004 g of lidocaine 2.5% (w/w); unfortunately this product cannot safely be used as this quantity is too small to effectively measure.

6. Your practice is presented with a 16-month-old, intact female Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) with a suspected endocrinopathy. The patient’s body weight is 115 grams, her body condition score is slightly diminished (4/9), and her muscle condition is also slightly diminished. You estimate that this patient is 3-5% dehydrated. Your blood analyzer needs 100 𝛍L of serum for a baseline cortisol test, as ordered by your veterinarian. What is the largest blood sample that you could safely take from this patient?

a. 2300 𝛍L

b. 1150 𝛍L

c. 575 𝛍L

d. 288 𝛍L

7. Which of the following is NOT a usable blood sampling site in the domestic rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus?

a. marginal auricular vein

b. lateral saphenous vein

c. jugular vein

d. lateral caudal vein

8. Which of the following is NOT a usable blood sampling site in the Fancy rat, Rattus norvegicus domestica?

a. marginal auricular vein

b. lateral saphenous vein

c. jugular vein

d. lateral caudal vein

9. Complete the following sentence: Heterophils…

a. …are the most numerous nongranular leukocytes in the peripheral blood of rabbits.

b. …have abundant eosinophilic granules (in most species), and function similarly to eosinophils in other species.

c. …lack the enzyme myeloperoxidase.

d. …do not exhibit toxic changes under any circumstances.

10. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the inflammatory response in small exotic mammals?

a. Acute inflammation can be characterized by a severe decline in neutrophils and increase in heterophils in the same sample.

b. A left shift can be difficult to detect in species with heterophils, as the nucleus is often obscured by cytoplasmic granules.

c. A left shift paired with neutropenia or heteropenia suggests poor production of these cells.

d. Toxic changes can be observed in heterophils or neutrophils that have experienced prolonged storage time prior to analysis.

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RVT Month CE 2022: Working with Our Smallest Patients - Venipuncture Tips & Tricks, Preparing a Blood Smear

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